Columbia University in the City of New York Top Questions

Is the stereotype of students at your school accurate?

Jesse

Largely, yes - albeit the Princeton or Yale bit. I feel Columbia was the first choice of so many of the people I've met here. Also, the campus is huuuuuuuugely Asian.

Phillip

The first is definitely not true. While the bleachers at the sports games may be pitifully empty, there's still a campus feel. People lounge on the lawns and throw around frisbees on warm days, there's tons of clubs, events, activities in the student center, etc. The other stereotype - we work 24/7. Sadly, about true. We have to work really hard, whether in the College or the School of Engineering. But we get good at making time for friends and fun. The school is indeed extremely liberal, with rallies and protests being pretty frequent. In my first semester at Columbia we had the giant Ahmadinejad (President of Iran) visit and protest, and then hunger strikers on the lawn a few months later. Hunger strikers. Really. Through in a protest for the Jena 6 and a few others in between. But outside from protests people really do good. Groups like the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Community Impact, do everything from social justice work in Uganda (IVCF) to a great deal of service around New York City.

sam

yes, although (obviously) there is a huge range of students at any school, and people will certainly find other people they like in a group of thousands...i just didn't feel like i fit in with the majority of students.

Alex

All of them are accurate, though not as a stereotype. We definitely have students who feel that Columbia was made for them and that they are better than everyone else, but we also most definitely have students who appreciate everything about their Ivy League experience and never take for granted the fact that they made it here. Everyone here has something special about them, usually multiple things, so in that sense a lot of people are over achievers and well-rounded, as well as plain genius. But there's also the slackers, the procrastinaters, and the loners who are wise and already know that its impossible to live up to perfect standards. Negativity is definitely a problem, unfortunately, and its definitely apparent, but it doesn't have to change you or affect you if you don't let it.

Brooke

Yes haha but Asian and Jewish people are awesome. I grew up thinking that everyone was Roman Catholic, but now I have maybe two Catholic friends.

Anna

I definitely don't see Columbia as the most studious ivy, though the core does require a lot of motivation. Cocaine - I guess it depends what people you hang out with, it definitely happens though I'm not sure what to think of the rumor that people use it to study for exams. The most accurate stereotype is probably that Columbia has less of a campus centered social scene because the people who come here love the city and spend a lot of time off campus.

Catherine

Clearly not for everyone, but I transferred to Columbia from Duke and I have observed that at Columbia people conform much more to that stereotype than students at Duke, where the workload is equally intense.

Nicholas

Although there are a lot of Jewish students, we're not all Jewish. And there are a lot of humble, attractive, poor people. However, we are afraid to go beyond 125th St.

Toby

Yes.

Nicolas

Yes.

gabby

it depends who. definitely tehre are people who fit the stereotypes and people who do not.

Aasha

Columbia is really diverse ethnically and otherwise, but there are also lots of cliques which take away from the "diversity" experience. The cliques could be the athletes, or also racial or political, but they make Columbia more polarized. Columbia is in Morningside Heights, not Harlem and Harlem's actually not that unsafe anyways. You probably shouldn't be going there late at night, but that goes for anywhere in NYC when you're alone.

Leah

of course there are some people who are like this, but they're not only at columbia

Harper

yes, but we also like to have fun!

Bruna

To some degree. We are smart kids and the vast majority are left-wing, but we don't study ALL the time.

Ryan

The stereotypes about the students are true to an extent, however, many people focus in different areas, such as history or philosophy. The sports teams are terrible, except for the fencing team, and though the administration and advising aren't as bad as they seem, they are pretty bad. The Core curriculum is great.

Chris

not for everyone, but they are stereotypes here for a reason

Pauline

No, not always though I have definitly met a lot of socially akward boys at Columbia. Both Barnard and Columbia girls are at times pretty and at times.. well... not so much. But it really goes both ways.

Leah

Not at all. There is so much going on here all the time. 96{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of upperclassman live in campus housing and there are always events on campus. If you wanted to stay on campus all the time and just take advantage of school activities you wouldn't get bored but, I mean, why would you come to NY unless you wanted to explore the city!

kelly

While there may be some who fit into this category, this applies only to a very few. The diversity of this campus, I think, inhibits this stereotype.

Cameron

Everyone is very smart. Some people are smart in a pretentious way, but most people are modest about their accomplishments. Barnard girls are definitely way more social as far as going out on weekends, and overall more good-looking than columbia girls.

Andy

Yes and no. We are the most diverse campus in the most diverse city in the world.

Leila

Most of these stereotypes are inaccurate; first of all, although Columbia has a fairly small campus, we do have our own campus in Manhattan that is beautiful and always full of people. I have alot of good friends on sports teams who are doing great (our fencing team just placed 3rd in Nationals, our crew teams are doing well also). I am in a sorority and the members of Greek life on campus are awesome and very involved in creating a better campus life. There are some students who spend hours at the library studying every day, but honestly, there are dedicated students like that at every college, especially Ivy League Universities. Most students around here manage their studies and partying very well.

Sarah

Basically, if you are looking for preppy people, unless you are in the greek system or an athlete you won't find that here. Most people know they are smart and have no problem letting everyone else know, which is terribly obnoxious and something that really frustrates me. That, or they feel the need to prove themselves and, therefore, constantly make dumb and pointless comments in class so that everyone can at least think they are smart.

Alison

yes. For the most part. This is not a party school, and definatly feels like a small campus, but its the best campus in NYC.

Julie

Yes. I'd say they are.

Michelle

While the student body is diverse, it is very disconnected. Students often stick to groups of like race/religion and do not mix very often.

Katherine

yes.

Andy

no!

Anastasia

To an extent, yes. The athletics here are a joke and Greek life is small, and as of late, heavily policed by the university's housing and dining people. The core however, provides a really interesting background in many aspects of Western culture and is not snobby at all.

abby

some

Allie

some are some aren't, but they do not reflect every student, some students give a bad name to the whole student body

Andy

yes

Marisa

I personally believe that you can find people here who do fulfill the stereotypes, as well as at any other school. There's a good mix of people who go out and have fun, and people who are more chill. You can basically find a good mix of both or one of the extremes, as you like. Also, there is rarely rivalry between Barnard and Columbia girls, I know various people who have Barnard sisters or best friends. And as for being too liberal - you are in New York City... in general people will be more liberal than the conservative South where I came from.

Liz

Sometimes, for the most part NO

Christina

No, not really. Columbia is very diverse.

Johanna

For the most part, the stereotypes are true. However, if you work hard enough you will no doubt be able to find people you identify with if the artsy-weirdo-stoner type isn't quite your cup of tea. Part of this probably comes from how diverse the school is - you will not feel like you are exactly alike any of the people you are around at first unlike you will at schools like Georgetown, for instance. Barnard girls (for the most part) should not be judged as harshly as they are, although you will no doubt come across a few that just make you want to shake your head in shame that you have to share a class with them. Yes, they take advantage of a lot of the Ivy opportunities, but I guarantee you won't know most of them are from Barnard unless you ask.

Sarah

yes and no. there is most definitely a social life at Columbia, the only problem is that the majority of people are indeed socially awkward.

Margot

No.

Meghan

No! Of course not. We do have campus spirit, we just also have New York... so we can have lives both on and off campus.

Abbey

For the most part, I think they are. I do think, however, that while students are grade-conscious and serious about studying, they are also serious about having fun. With New York City there are endless opportunities for that.

CJ

for a small group of people it is, but not for the vast majority of students

Lee

I think quirky fits Columbia students best, and I love that!

Anna

I grew up in a big city so I was never around the suburban preppy kids so for me it was a little weird but they are definitely not overly egotistic. Some of them are, but a lot are very laid back.

Rachel

I would say there is a fair share of conservatives around campus, however they aren't the ones being targeted by the biased media

Ryan

Columbia students are extremely diverse in all interests and a very large percentage hold positions on athletic organizations. The drugs are not at all more common than any other campus, far less I would say, and the people on campus are generally more than wiling to stop and answer questions, talk for a bit, sit and relax on a sunny day, etc...

Britney

No way!!

Christina

A lot of stereotypes are mass generalizations that may have basis in truth, so, taken into context, some of the stereotypes are true. In my experience, I've found that a lot of SEAS students tend to be a little less social or interested in social activities, and purely by demographics, a large number of SEAS students are Asian. I think the Barnard/Columbia College dynamic is often reported to be less amiable than it actually is; I have good friends on both sides of Broadway, and have found smart, inane, conceited, and brilliant people in both schools. On the whole though, I have found my Barnard classes to be more challenging and provide more options for individual thought, while Columbia's tend to be larger in size, and somewhat dominated by generalized lectures and teaching assistants.

Caitlin

For the most part I have found these stereotypes to be accurate.

Allie

Somewhat. There is a lot of red tape, and there isn't a GREAT sense of community, but some common strands hold this diverse group together--probably most of all, the Core curriculum, which creates a common (often unwanted) bond between students in the college. But yes, it is hard to find a seat in Butler Library at 10 PM on a Saturday night.